Cannons

Me and a 12-lbdr field gun, commonly known as a Napoleon.  Made of bronze, it was a favored cannon used by both sides.

Each cannon required 8-10 men to crew and 12 horses to pull them, their limbers and cassions.

The iron 3-inch ordnance rifles have a smoother profile than the bronze smooth bores.  The marks around the bore indicate this was Rifle #205 made at the Phoenix Iron Company in 1862 and weighs 817 lbs.  JMW are the intitials of the inspector.

Another cannon made at the same factory, only earlier.

Two more limbers and cassions.  Limbers are the two-wheeled carts on the front.  The trail of the cannon would be hooked to the limber and then harnessed to six horses.  The limber had an ammunition box mounted on it.  Another limber would be hooked up to a cassion (as in the picture above) that carried two ammo boxes and a spare wheel.

Confederate Napoleons can be recognized by the lack of muzzle swell (I know you always wondered about that!).


The following pictures show the common field cannons used in the Civil War.  These are at Antietam National Battlefield.